The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and their fabrication and, more particularly, to the repair of semiconductor devices.
The electronics industry continues to rely upon advances in semiconductor technology, including integrated circuits (ICs), to realize higher-functioning devices in more compact areas. For many applications, realizing higher-functioning devices requires integrating a large number of electronic devices into a single silicon wafer. In addition, many of the individual devices within the wafer are being manufactured with smaller physical dimensions. As the number of electronic devices per given area of the silicon wafer increases, and as the size of the individual devices decreases, testing processes become more important and more difficult.
Many integrated circuit dies include circuits having defects that can hinder the operability and reliability of the die. One such defect that can cause difficulty is a resistive electrical connection. Resistive connections have been a major IC manufacturing and operating problem in terms of yield, performance, and reliability, and this problem is expected to increase in importance as the number of interconnection levels and operating frequencies increase. While the ability to localize and identify these defective interconnections can be extremely useful for diagnosing IC failures and implementing corrective action, ICs exhibiting such defects often are not usable due to operating problems including those noted hereinabove. In many cases, these ICs cannot be operated at design performance levels, and in some cases the ICs must be discarded due to the inability to assure adequate performance.
The present invention is exemplified in a number of implementations and applications, some of which are summarized below. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor die having circuitry that includes a multitude of circuit paths is analyzed. A circuit portion exhibiting resistivity is detected and annealed to reduce the resistivity of the circuit portion and improve the ability of the die to process high speed signals. In this manner, the repair of ICs exhibiting operational problems due to resistive electrical connections, such as those discussed hereinabove, is made possible.
According to another example embodiment of the present invention, a system is adapted for repairing a semiconductor die having circuitry that includes a multitude of circuit paths. The system includes a resistivity detection arrangement adapted to detect that a particular circuit portion in the die is resistive. An annealing arrangement, such as a laser adapted to generated heat in the die, is adapted to anneal the resistive circuit portion and reduce the resistivity therein.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The figures and detailed description which follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments.